ML24172A135
| ML24172A135 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Browns Ferry, Watts Bar  |
| Issue date: | 07/15/2024 |
| From: | Bo Pham Plant Licensing Branch II |
| To: | Jim Barstow Tennessee Valley Authority |
| Green K | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML24172A146 | List: |
| References | |
| EPID L-2023-LLE-0024, NRC-2024-0114 | |
| Download: ML24172A135 (7) | |
Text
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-259, 50-260, 50-296, and 72-052; NRC-2024-0114]
Tennessee Valley Authority;
Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, and 3;
Exemption
I. Background
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is the holder of Renewed Facility Operating
License Nos. DPR-33, DPR-52, and DPR-68, and General License No.72-052, which
authorize the operation of the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, and 3, and an
independent spent fuel storage installation (Browns Ferry or Browns Ferry site),
respectively, located in Limestone County, Alabama. The renewed operating licenses
are subject to all applicable provisions of the Atomic Energy Act, and to the rules,
regulations, and orders of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or
Commission) now or hereafter in effect.
II. Request/Action
By letter dated September 28, 2023 (Agencywide Documents Access and
Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML23271A063), as supplemented on
March 14, 2024 (ML24074A457), TVA requested an exemption from the requirement in
Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), part 37, paragraph 37.11(c)(2) to
use a locked door or gate at the access control point to where radioactive waste that
contains category 1 or category 2 quantities of radioactive material is stored.
The provisions of 10 CFR part 37 establish physical security requirements to
prevent the theft or diversion of risk-significant radioactive materials (i.e., category 1 and
category 2 quantities of radioactive material). As stated in NUREG-2155, Rev. 2,
Implementation Guidance for 10 CFR Part 37, Physical Protection of Category 1 and
Category 2 Quantities of Radioactive Material (ML22083A141), 10 CFR 37.11 exempts
radioactive wastes that contain category 2 quantities or greater of radioactive material
from the security requirements in subparts B, C, and D of 10 CFR part 37. Instead, the
radioactive waste is subject to the requirements in 10 CFR 37.11(c)(1) through (c)(4).
The regulation at 10 CFR 37.11(c)(2) requires that the licensee secure the radioactive
waste by a locked door or gate with monitored alarm at the access control point.
The Browns Ferry site includes a low-level radioactive waste storage facility
(LLRWSF) that is used to store the original steam dryers for Browns Ferry, which were
removed during the extended power uprate outages. The steam dryers exceed the
threshold for a category 2 quantity of radioactivity, as defined in 10 CFR 37.5, but do not
contain discrete radioactive sources, ion-exchange resins, or activated materials that
weigh less than 2,000 kilograms (4,409 pounds), as described in 10 CFR 37.11(c). As
such, the licensee is required by 10 CFR 37.11(c)(2) to have a monitored alarm at the
access control point to the LLRWSF vaults where the steam dryers are stored.
TVA describes the LLRWSF as a robust structure consisting of a group of
rectangular box-type concrete storage modules that are located outside the Browns
Ferry protected area, but inside the owner-controlled area and exclusion zone. Each
LLRWSF storage module is closed by five precast concrete caps, weighing
approximately 45,813 kilograms (101,000 pounds) eac h. Removal of the caps is the only
access point to the stored steam dryers and requires heavy lifting and rigging equipment
2 that cannot be staged or utilized quickly. Removal of the caps is an evolution that is
easily observable over an extended period of time.
TVA has requested a permanent exemption from the requirement in 10 CFR
37.11(c)(2) to address a regulatory noncompliance that has resulted in the issuance of
minor violations at the Browns Ferry site.
III. Discussion
Pursuant to 10 CFR 37.11(a), the Commission may, upon application of any
interested person or upon its own initiative, grant such exemptions from the
requirements of the regulations in 10 CFR part 37 as it determines are authorized by law
and will not endanger life or property or the common defense and security, and are
otherwise in the public interest.
A. The Exemption is Authorized by Law.
The exemption would exempt the licens ee from the requirement to have a
monitored alarm at the access control point to the LLRWSF vaults where the steam
dryers are stored. As stated previously, 10 CFR 37.11(a) allows the NRC to grant
exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR part 37. The NRC staff has determined
that granting of the exemption is permissible under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as
amended, and other regulatory requirements. Therefore, the exemption is authorized by
law.
3 B. The Exemption Will Not Endanger Life or Property or the Common Defense
and Security.
The purpose of 10 CFR part 37 is to provide reasonable assurance of the security
of category 1 or category 2 quantities of radioactive material by protecting these
materials from theft or diversion. As required by 10 CFR 37.11, each licensee that
possesses radioactive waste that contains category 1 or category 2 quantity of
radioactive material shall implement the following requirements to secure the radioactive
waste: (1) use continuous physical barriers that allow access to the radioactive waste
only through established access control points; (2) use a locked door or gate with
monitored alarm at the access control point; (3) assess and respond to each actual or
attempted unauthorized access to determine whether an actual or attempted theft,
sabotage, or diversion occurred; and (4) immediately notify the local law enforcement
agency (LLEA) and request an armed response from the LLEA upon determination that
there was an actual or attempted theft, sabotage, or diversion of the radioactive waste
that contains category 1 or category 2 quantities of radioactive material.
After issuance of the final part 37 rule, the NRC issued Enforcement Guidance
Memorandum (EGM) 2014-001, Interim Guidance for Dispositioning 10 CFR Part 37
Violations with Respect to Large Components or Robust Structures Containing Category
1 or Category 2 Quantities of Material at Power Reactor Facilities Licensed Under 10
CFR Parts 50 and 52 (ML14056A151), on March 13, 2014, to provide guidance to NRC
staff for dispositioning violations associated with 10 CFR part 37 with respect to large
components containing category 1 and category 2 quantities of radioactive material
stored in robust structures at power reactor facilities licensed under 10 CFR parts 50 and
- 52. The EGM acknowledges that due to their size and weight, these large components
are not easily moved without cranes, rigging, and heavy equipment. In addition, these
4 large components are not easily concealed during loading or when they are in motion,
and the amount of time required to steal or divert these large components is such that it
is reasonable to expect that the licensee would detect these activities.
TVA has a written 10 CFR part 37 security plan for Browns Ferry that identifies the
original steam dryers as large components and the LLRWSF as a robust structure
containing category 1 or category 2 quantities of radioactive material. The plan also
identifies the security measures that are adequate to detect, assess, and respond to
actual or attempted theft or diversion of stored materials from the LLRWSF. TVA
provided a written analysis that considers the time needed to accomplish these activities
given the proximity and mobility of the equipment available for the large components and
robust structures supporting the 10 CFR part 37 security plan. TVA also provided a
written analysis documenting that the measures for the protection of large components
or robust structures containing category 1 or category 2 quantities of material do not
decrease the effectiveness of the 10 CFR part 73 security plan.
Because TVA has a security plan that contains measures to control access to the
radioactive waste, assess and respond to unauthorized access, and notify and request
an armed response by the LLEA, the NRC finds that the exemption will not endanger life
or property or the common defense and security.
C. The Exemption is in the Public Interest
TVA stated that the exemption would preclude the expenditure of resources that
provide no additional security and protection for the stored steam dryers. Granting of the
exemption would also allow TVA to address a regulatory noncompliance and avoid
future violations.
5 As noted previously, the original steam dryers are large components that are
stored in robust structures that would require the use of heavy lifting and rigging
equipment that cannot be staged or utilized quickly. Requiring the use of a locked door
or gate with monitored alarm at the access control point is supplanted by the licensees
security plan which utilizes other means to detect unauthorized access, while the
exemption would reduce the regulatory burden on the licensee and the NRC staff.
Therefore, the NRC staff concludes that the exemption is in the public interest.
IV. Environmental Considerations
Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.21, 51.32, and 51.35, an environmental assessment and
finding of no significant impact regarding this exemption request was published in the
Federal Register on June 27, 2024 (89 FR 53663). Based upon the environmental
assessment, the Commission has determined that issuance of this exemption will not
have a significant effect on the quality of the human environment.
6 V. Conclusions
Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 37.11(a),
the exemption is authorized by law, will not endanger life or property or the common
defense and security, and is in the public interest.
Dated: July 15, 2024.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Bo Pham, Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
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